Maternal and Child Health Clinics

According to (UNICEF 2018) at least one in every 26 Kenyan children, dies before reaching the age of one and about one in every 19 does not survive to his/her 5^th birthday. According to the report,85%of all deaths to children under the age of 15 years, occur to children under the age of 5 with 38%of the under-five deaths occurring in the first month of life.

Additionally, no woman deserves to die while giving birth, yet maternal deaths remain unacceptably high accounting to 4% of all deaths to women age 15-49, where most of all these deaths occur to low averaged women who have no access to health care services, especially from rural areas that are more affected due to poverty, ignorance and illiteracy.

Village HopeCore's MCH program aims to address these challenges in Mwimbi and Muthambi sub-counties through mobile MCH clinics and health education to mothers on various topics such as breastfeeding, family planning, nutrition, water and safety and healthy habits. This is aimed at empowering mothers and caregivers to take charge of their own health and that of their families. Supplementation of micro-nutrients such as Vitamin A to under-five children and prenatal multivitamins to women. Deworming of all children under five years of age, nutritional assessment (growth monitoring), counselling and referrals.

 2020 ACHIEVEMENT

community-based MCH clinics

These MCH clinics were conducted in churches, chiefs camps and other common and easily accessible places including tea buying centres, cattle dips and homes to prominent members of the community. Our community health field officers liaise with community health volunteers who mobilize expectant mothers, children below five years and their parents to come for these clinics. We conducted 51 Clinics where 1197 mothers were educated on various health topics ranging from Family planning, Nutrition, Breastfeeding, Fever, Soap and water guard, Blood pressure, Hypertension, Malaria prevention, Hygiene and sanitation, Tuberculosis, Pneumonia,885 children received free treatment services, the nutritional assessment was conducted to 930 children where 19 children were referred to a dietitian.

Home-based MCH Clinics

Amid confirmation of the first case of Covid-19 in Kenya, we limited the number of people meeting at any one particular point and this meant our community-based MCHs which normally attracted many people were unsafe in the Covid-19 environment. However, we needed to still reach our beneficiaries as they faced even increased challenges such as not going to health facilities for fear of contracting Covid-19 hence defaulting in immunization, disease progression to severe levels and lack of family planning uptake by mothers. To correct this, we adopted a home-based MCH approach which entailed a Community health volunteer teaming up with a nurse from Village HopeCore to visit households with target groups in the community.

The Home-based Maternal child health clinics minimize the risk of exposure to this COVID 19 for the mothers and the under-five children. It also allowed health care providers to offer preventive and curative services at home. A total of 250 MCH clinics were conducted. We conducted 250 clinics where 

Below is a summary of our 2020 Achievements

• 250 Homebased MCH Clinics were conducted
• 5118 children accessed free nutritional assessment 
• 1502 children under 5 years got free treatment
• 3608 children got Vitamin A supplementation 
• 286 women receive free and voluntary family planning

Malaria Prevention

Village HopeCore’s malaria prevention project goal is to reduce malaria-related morbidity and mortality through health education on malaria, distribution of Long-Lasting Treated Nets to children at school entry-level, free malaria tests, treatment and community sensitization in Mwimbi and Muthambi sub-counties. 

We educated 4772 mothers/caregivers on malaria prevention in rural Mwimbi and Muthambi sub-counties through Community, Homebased and Village-based MCH clinics. To heighten malaria prevention, HopeCore distributed 786 LLTNs to children at school entry level in 54 primary schools.

Additionally, HopeCore’s field officers educated 14,800 school going children on malaria i.e. the cause, symptoms, risk factors associated with malaria and the importance of taking a malaria test. Additionally, we conduct free malaria Rapid Diagnosis Tests(RDTs) to 101 expectant women and 109 children under 5 years at our community laboratory for an early and accurate diagnosis. The clients who turned positive were treated using the dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine, second-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria case as recommended by the Kenya Ministry of Health.

Thank you all for being part of this great family and your tireless support to our community in 2020.

Links:

• https://www.villagehopecore.org/water-sanitation-hygiene-more-than-just-clean-toilets/

COVID 19 ASSESSMENT/ SCREENING

As a precautionary measure, Village HopeCore initiated a triaging tent at the entry of our apartment to conduct triaging and screening to all individual who intends to access the building. A clinical officer and one field officer are charged with the responsibility of conducting COVID 19 assessment, this includes taking travel history and measuring the temperature. For the period between June, July and August, we have screened 1651 individuals. Those who presented with conditions like running nose, sore throat, chest pain or any form of cough are treated at the tent. The screening has significantly helped to keep our staff and other occupants of the apartment safe.

COMMUNITY CLINIC

HopeCore’s Community clinic was reopened in May after being closed for around one month to strategize on how best we could provide services to our clients i.e. safe and placid environment that complies with the Ministry of Heath Set regulations on COVID 19.

1)Maternal Child Health services.

HopeCore MCH services at the clinic seek to promote the welfare of both mothers and children under five years. A total of 501 children and women have accessed free health services ranging from nutritional assessment, laboratory tests, Vitamin A supplementation, deworming and treatment of common diseases.

2)Antenatal Care(ANC) services

Village HopeCore’s Community Clinic provides free antenatal services to women in Mwimbi and Muthambi Sub-counties. ANC services link expectant women with the formal health system, increase the chance of using a skilled attendant at birth and contributes to good health through the life cycle. Good care during pregnancy is important for the health of the mother and the development of the unborn baby.  Inadequate care during this time breaks a critical link in the continuum of care and affects both woman and the unborn baby. Our clinic has provided ANC services to 38 mothers.

Unlike the public hospitals that charge Ksh 1500 -2000($15-20) for ANC profiling, HopeCore provides this essential service for free to the vulnerable women in our community.

3)Reproductive Health

Just like any other health rights in Kenya, women have the right to access reproductive health services in a timely and dignified manner/environment. HopeCore’s clinic promotes reproductive health for women in Mwimbi and Muthambi by providing free and voluntary family planning information and services. Since reopening, 167 women have accessed this family planning services ranging from depo injection, combined oral contraceptives and IUD insertion and removal. Family planning is an essential service that promotes both the health of mothers and their children.

4)Weekly cervical cancer screening  

We have also embarked to our weekly cervical cancer screening at the clinic. At the clinic, we conduct a comprehensive visual inspection of the cervix with Acetic Acid (VIA) and Lugol’s Iodine (VILI). WHO recommends that women of age between21 and 29 years should undergo screening at least once in every 3 years, unfortunately, very few women seek these services due to fear and ignorance. Since reopening in May, we have done cervical cancer screening to 45 women.

HOMEBASED MCH & FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAM.

The COVID 19 pandemic has led to a drastic decrease in demand for immunization services hence posing a high risk of children contracting measles and polio due to poor immunity. Village HopeCore redesigned its Maternal Child Health program to a Homebased Maternal Child Health and family planning program. In this new approach, we take MCH services to the community members at their homes rather than waiting for them to come out and seek the services from the already overstretched and equally under-resourced public health facilities.

Through the Homebased MCH & FP program, we have been able to offer free treatment of common conditions to 2471 children, 2450 children got Vitamin A supplementation and 2460 were dewormed. Our clinical team offered immunization referrals to 203 children under 5 years. During these visits, 94 expectant women were supplemented with iron/IFAS.